Religion of peace continues it's "gift giving"

Original Post: Yahoo

Al-Qaeda vows to continue parcel bomb attacks

HONG KONG (AFP) – The Yemen-based branch of Al-Qaeda has vowed further small but frequent attacks against the West such as last month's cargo plane parcel bombs, in a "strategy of a thousand cuts" that will "bleed the enemy to death", a monitoring group said.

Al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula (AQAP) said the packages it put aboard freight planes bound for the US in late October were never intended to cause mass casualties, but were aimed at creating maximum economic damage.

The group said the parcels, which were intercepted in Dubai and Britain, were part of "Operation Hemorrhage," a plan that had cost just 4,200 dollars to mount.

It said there was now little focus on large-scale mass-casualty attacks like those on New York and Washington in September 2001.

"To bring down America we do not need to strike big," the network said in an English-language magazine called Inspire, which was monitored Saturday by the US-based Intelcenter.

"In such an environment of security phobia that is sweeping America, it is more feasible to stage smaller attacks that involve less players and less time to launch and thus we may circumvent the security barriers America worked so hard to erect," AQAP said.

"This strategy of attacking the enemy with smaller, but more frequent operations is what some may refer to as the strategy of a thousand cuts. The aim is to bleed the enemy to death."

The two parcels were addressed to synagogues in Chicago and found to contain the hard-to-detect explosive PETN hidden in ink toner cartridges.

A massive global security clampdown on airfreight followed the discovery, with a number of countries banning cargo or flights originating from Yemen, including the United States, Canada and several western European countries.

The AQAP magazine details the "total bill of 4,200" dollars for Operation Hemorrhage, adding that it was three months in the planning and execution.

"On the other hand this... will without a doubt cost America and other Western countries billions of dollars in new security measures. This is what we call leverage.

"From the start our objective was economic... It was determined that the success of the operation was to be based on two factors: The first is that the packages pass through the latest security equipment.

"The second, the spread of fear that would cause the West to invest billions of dollars in new security procedures.

"We will continue with similar operations and we do not mind at all in this stage if they are intercepted. It is such a good bargain for us to spread fear amongst the enemy and keep him on his toes in exchange of a few months of work and a few thousand bucks."

The magazine says AQAP intends to pass on its know-how to other radical Islamists around the world, to encourage them to mount similar operations.

"We are laying out for our enemies our plan in advance because... our objective is not maximum kill but to cause a hemorrhage in the aviation industry, an industry that is so vital for trade and transportation between the US and Europe."

IntelCenter chief executive Ben Venzke said the level of operational detail AQAP had provided in the magazine marked a departure for Islamists.

"We have never seen a jihadist group in the Al-Qaeda orbit ever release, let alone only a few weeks after, such a detailed accounting of the philosophy, operational details, intent and next steps following a major attack," he said.

"This may represent a new level of interaction by jihadi groups following an operation and is a far cry from the days of shadowy claims and questions as to who was actually responsible.

"AQAP is a dedicated, unwavering and sophisticated group. It will continue to strike at the US in creative new ways and it is only a matter of time until one of their attacks results in thousands dead and/or severe economic damage."

Democrat Senator Jay Rockefeller wants to kill free speech

Original Post: Huffington Post

Senator Rockefeller Wants FCC To 'End' Fox News, MSNBC

During a committee meeting on Wednesday about television retransmission consent, Senator Jay Rockefeller (D-WV) veered away from his prepared remarks to take aim at both Fox News and MSNBC:

More than just retransmission consent ails our television markets. We need new catalysts for quality news and entertainment programming. I hunger for quality news. I'm tired of the right and the left. There's a little bug inside of me which wants to get the FCC to say to Fox and to MSNBC, "Out. Off. End. Goodbye." It'd be a big favor to political discourse, our ability to do our work here in Congress, and to the American people, to be able to talk with each other and have some faith in their government and, more importantly, in their future.

As the New York Times points out, "There is little the Federal Communications Commission can say about Fox News or MSNBC since the channels are on cable, not delivered over the broadcast airwaves."

Rockefeller opened his remarks with a stinging rebuke of the 24-hour news cycle and the blurring of news and entertainment:

When it comes to developing content, our entertainment machine is too often in a race to the bottom. In fact, it is in a race to the bottom. Getting close. Even worse, our news media has all but surrendered to the forces of entertainment. And much of our news media is entertainment as opposed to news. Instead of a watchdog that is a check on the excesses of government and business, we have the endless barking of a 24-hour news cycle. We have journalism that is always ravenous for the next rumor, but insufficiently hungry for the facts that can nourish something called our democracy. As citizens, we are paying one heck of a price in the dumbing down of America. You're probably responsible for that.

Separate but equal swimming for infidels

Original Post: Daily Mail

Public pool bars father and son from its 'Muslim-only' swimming session

By COLIN FERNANDEZ and NICK McDERMOTT

Last updated at 12:33 18 April 2008

A father and his five-year-old son were turned away from their local swimming pool because they were the wrong religion.

David Toube, 39, and his son Harry were told that the Sunday morning session was reserved for Muslim men only.

Hackney Council, which runs the Clissold Leisure Centre in Stoke Newington, north London, claimed staff there had made a mistake.

However, the Muslim-only session was advertised on its website.

Mr Toube, a corporate lawyer, described his experiences on a blog.

"I arrived at the pool to discover that they were holding what staff described to me as "Muslim men only swimming"," he wrote.

"I asked whether my son and I could go as we were both male. I was told that the session was for Muslims only and that we could not be admitted. I asked what would happen if I turned up and insisted I was Muslim.

"The manager suggested that they might ask the Muslims swimming if they minded my son and I swimming with them. If they didn't object, we might be allowed in."

A few days later, Mr Toube, who lives with his wife, 38-year-old barrister Samantha, and their two sons in Stoke Newington, North London, spoke to another leisure centre employee.

"He gave me an identical story. His explanation was that it was a requirement of the Muslim religion that Muslims could not swim with non-Muslims."

The swimming pool at Clissold Leisure Centre where the father and son were barred from

Mr Toube joked: "I asked him whether Clissold Leisure Centre would institute Whites Only swimming for racists. His answer was that they would if there was sufficient demand."

He added: "I spoke to a number of Muslim friends, and none of them had heard of a religious prohibition on swimming with non-Muslims.

"One friend was so disgusted with Hackney for trying to segregate Muslims and non Muslims that he suggested that he take his little daughter swimming with us, just to prove the point."

However, Dr Taj Hargey, chair of the Muslim Education Centre of Oxford, said it was not true that Muslims could not swim with non-Muslims.

"There is no Koranic verse or any statement from the sources of Islam that says different religions should be segregated," he said.

"The only requirement is that when women swim they should be modestly clad."

The Prophet Mohammed is recorded as saying that it is a Muslim's duty to learn to swim as it could save his or her life.

The swimming sessions for male Muslims were advertised as taking place every Sunday from 8am to 9.30am.

Leaflets stipulated: "It is compulsory for the body to be covered between the navel and the knees.

"Anyone not adhering to the dress code or rules within the pool will not be allowed to swim. All brothers welcome.'

A leisure centre spokesman said staff were wrong to refuse entry to Mr Toube.

He added: "The member of staff the user spoke with at the time was mistaken when referring to the session as Muslim-only.

"The men's modesty session is not a private hire and is, therefore, open to the public.

"Staff cannot ask your religion on entrance and you won't be refused entry if you don't appear to be Muslim."

A spokesman for the Equality and Human Rights Commission said: "Segregating services may amount to unlawful discrimination and could create a sense of unfairness, inadvertently increasing community tension."

Obama bashes us for carbon output from his giant armored limo

Obama's 'Beast' of a limo stands out at green NATO summit

Original Post: Yahoo



LISBON (AFP) – The Portuguese hosts of Friday's NATO summit hoped to use the event to promote clean-energy and electric cars, but all eyes were on US President Barack Obama's diesel-guzzling "Beast" instead.

As is usual when he travels, Obama's eight-tonne armoured behemoth of a limousine was flown out to Lisbon before the US leader's arrival, and it ferried him from the airport tarmac to his first meetings of the weekend.

Doubtless he didn't intend the Beast's roar to drown out his hosts' green message, but a US presidential motorcade and its attendant escort of Secret Service SUVs do attract attention, even at the most elite gatherings.

Earlier, Prime Minister Jose Socrates and his fellow Portuguese, the president of the European Commission Jose Manuel Barroso, had arrived at the summit in quiet, zero-emission electric cars.

"I'd like to underline the priority both our countries assign to renewable energy and electric vehicles," Socrates said, after meeting Obama, amid amused sniping from the Portuguese press at the mixed messages.

Portugal is proud of the lead it has taken in introducing what it says is the world's first national electric vehicle charging network, with 100 power outlets in 25 towns and plans to install 1,300 by next year.

The government was particularly keen for the press covering the summit to underline this, and a news release describing the recharging network was already on each of the tables in the media centre as the global pack arrived.

Within the highly secure summit site, electric buses were put on to ferry journalists between venues.

In theory, at least, Obama was on side with the plan, remarking: "An area where I want to congratulate the prime minister and the Portuguese people is for the extraordinary leadership that you?ve shown in clean energy.

"The prime minister's leadership on electric cars will create new opportunities for American companies here in Portugal ... and this is an example of what Portugal and America can achieve together."

But there was no immediate reaction from the White House to criticism of Obama's rather less green form of transport, and the administration has in the past said that the president's security arrangements are non-negotiable.

Former TSA security director: No one likes Fourth Amendment violations, but we’re going to have to do it

Related Article: Hotair.com

posted at 7:41 pm on November 16, 2010 by Allahpundit
I’ll say this for the guy: He’s not one for sugar-coating. If he has to break a few constitutional eggs to make a security omelette, not only is he going to do it, he’s going to tell you that he’s doing it. Bend over — this Fourth Amendment violation won’t hurt a bit. I wonder what that’ll do to the poll numbers: As of yesterday, fully 81 percent of the public supports the use of full-body scanners at the airport, but as Nate Silver notes, that may be because relatively few people have had to endure them yet. Poll it again in a month, after “don’t touch my junk” fee-vah has had term to percolate culturally, and who knows where it’ll be.


Speaking of which, Gizmodo’s touting the fact that it’s obtained 100 images from a full-body scanner used at a courthouse in Florida showing photos of people side-by-side with their (fuzzy) X-rayed selves. Which isn’t supposed to happen, of course, per the endless assurances from the feds that the machines don’t save images they record. Two things, though. One: We already knew about this incident. That doesn’t diminish the privacy breach, but strictly from the standpoint of public awareness, everyone should already know that these things are indeed capable of exporting images. (Which makes sense: They’d want that as evidence afterwards if a suspect is apprehended.) As for the side-by-side real-life/X-ray comparisons, if you believe Napolitano — a very big if, I know — that wouldn’t happen at the airport. She’s sworn up and down that images from the full-body scanner are viewed at a remote location in the airport so that the screener observing them doesn’t see the actual passenger. In theory, at least in airports, side-by-side comparisons that identify people shouldn’t be possible. But then, in theory, the machines aren’t saving images either. Go figure.

Update: Elsewhere, Greenroomer Howard Portnoy explores the claims about dangerous radiation. Are these things really firing off damaging rays? Well … maybe, yeah.

Compassionate Liberal shoots up TV after seeing Bristol Palin on it

Enraged by Bristol Palin on 'Dancing,' man shoots TV, prompts standoff

Original Post: JS Online

By Sharif Durhams and Ryan Haggerty of the Journal Sentinel


Steven N. Cowan
Associated Press
In this publicity image released by ABC, Bristol Palin performs during the celebrity dance competition series, "Dancing with the Stars," on Monday.

A rural Dane County town supervisor believes Bristol Palin should not be on "Dancing With The Stars."

He demanded his wife get his pistols to emphasize his point.

The result: A 15-hour standoff Monday and Tuesday involving hostage negotiators, a dog team and other law enforcement authorities on one side and the Town of Vermont man on the other.

The only casualty: The man's television.

Dane County prosecutors have charged Steven N. Cowan with second-degree reckless endangerment in the incident that made his wife worry he would shoot her, according to a criminal complaint.

Cowan, 67, and his wife were in their living room Monday night, watching the dance competition program that features the daughter of former vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin as a competitor this season.

As Bristol Palin danced on the screen, Cowan raged.

"The (expletive) politics," he yelled, according to the complaint. Cowan, a Town of Vermont supervisor, was upset that a political figure's daughter was on the show when he didn't consider her a good dancer, his wife told authorities.

Cowan went to his bedroom and came back about 20 minutes later, demanding that his wife find his pistols. Cowan's daughter had taken two handguns for safety reasons, according to the complaint.

Cowan tracked down a single-shot shotgun in the house, he "slapped" shells down onto a TV tray, loaded a round and took out the TV, the complaint says.

Cowan's face was bright red. He loaded the gun again. His wife put a blanket over her head, thinking that if her husband decided to shoot at her, she didn't want to see it, the complaint says.

Cowan again demanded his pistols. His wife grabbed her purse and went to the police department, and the standoff ensued, the complaint says.

Cowan's wife told authorities he has been taking medication for bipolar disorder and that the family's finances have caused stress. He had been drinking at a bar before he came home, according to the complaint.

Cowan appeared at a hearing Wednesday where his bail was set at $1,500 and a status hearing was scheduled for Dec. 6. Meanwhile, Palin advanced to the finals of "Dancing With The Stars," which will air next week.

Larry Ziemer, a fellow town supervisor, said he has known Cowan for about 20 years.

"I have nothing but good things to say about Steve," Ziemer said. "It was totally out of character for this to occur. He just does an excellent job on the town board and in his private working life."

Ziemer said Cowan is a talented carpenter and is well-respected in the area. Ziemer said he had never heard Cowan speak ill of Sarah Palin or her family before.

“He and I agree pretty much on politics,” Ziemer said. “We would probably lean both to the liberal side.”

FDA banns alcoholic energy drinks

Original Post: Yahoo

Amanda Chan, MyHealthNewsDaily Staff Writer

LiveScience.com amanda Chan, Myhealthnewsdaily Staff Writer

livescience.com – Thu Nov 18, 12:14 pm ET

While many health professionals and lawmakers are cheering the Food and Drug Administration's decision yesterday to declare caffeine an illegal and unsafe additive to manufactured alcoholic beverages, critics say the move is an infringement of consumer rights by the government.

The FDA issued warnings yesterday (Nov. 17) to four companies, including Four Loko maker Phusion Projects, after conducting a year-long review that found no scientific support for the claim that the addition of caffeine to these alcoholic beverages is generally recognized as safe. The companies have 15 days to create a plan to remove the caffeine from their products, or remove them from store shelves.

But the Competitive Enterprise Institute, a nonprofit group that supports limited government, said the FDA had gone too far.

"It's just one more example of the FDA reaching into a practice that people can, and often do, do safely and trying to eliminate it," said Gregory Conko, a senior fellow at the institute.

Conko acknowledged that drinking caffeine with alcoholic beverages has the ability to dangerously mask the effects of intoxication. But people can responsibly drinking caffeine and alcohol together, in the form of rum-and-cola and other mixed drinks, and there shouldn't be a difference in legality of those drinks and drinks that are manufactured, he said. [Related: Brewing Controversy: Experts Say Four Loko Worse Than Mixed Drinks]

But because the manufactured drinks are sold in colorful, super-size containers, younger consumers - even underage kids - find them attractive, David Vladeck, director of the Bureau of Consumer Protection of the Federal Trade Commission, said at a news conference.

"These products are cheap and cost less than $3 a can," Vladeck said. Making matters worse, the caffeine "can mask the consumer's sense of intoxication, so young, inexperienced drinkers may not understand how drunk they are," he said.

Caffeinated alcoholic beverages have grown in popularity since they came onto the scene about eight years ago. Two leading manufacturers saw their sales increase by 67 times between 2002 to 2008, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Numerous hospitalizations from alcohol poisoning, auto accidents and sexual assaults have been attributed to consumption of Four Loko, FDA Commissioner Dr. Margaret Hamburg said at the news conference.

Looking at the evidence

In deciding whether to prohibit caffeine from being added to manufactured alcoholic drinks, the FDA reviewed scientific literature to see the effects of the two substances together. Conko said the studies government officials used to make their decision are based on mixed drinks, not manufactured drinks, so their research is based on a slightly different product.

One study, published in April in the journal Addictive Behaviors, found that people who drank alcohol mixed with energy drinks were three times more likely to leave a bar highly intoxicated, and four times more likely to try to drive, than bar patrons who had drinks with no caffeine.

Another study published this month in the journal Alcoholism: Clinical & Experimental Research found that high consumption of energy drinks was associated with alcohol dependence and heavy drinking.

People who drink alcohol mixed with energy drinks are three times more likely to binge drink than those who don't mix the two substances together, according to the CDC.

It's hard to know for sure whether the drinks cause people to engage in risky behavior, or if risk-takers tend to gravitate toward the drinks, said Aaron White, a health scientist administrator at the National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism.

"For one reason or another, we see a different pattern of behavior and consequences in people who consume energy drinks with alcohol than people who drink alcohol alone," White told MyHealthNewsDaily. "I think the move [by the FDA] was made in order to protect the public from what could be a real recipe for disaster."